The Boulevard was a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in
Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of
greyhound racing in the city. There were plans for it to be used as a community stadium hosting
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
matches and
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
, but it eventually closed and was demolished in August 2010.
History
![Boulevard Stadium, Hull - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Boulevard_Stadium%2C_Hull_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1129524.jpg)
In the past the ground was used mostly for
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
matches and was the home stadium of
Hull F.C.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
before the opening of
KC Stadium
The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...
. The main entrance was on Airlie Street, giving rise to Hull FC's nickname as 'the Airlie Birds'. When it closed, the stadium's capacity was 10,500 people. The Boulevard also hosted four matches in various
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
s, as well as tour matches between Hull and visiting nations such as
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The ground had a strong connection with the city's former fishing industry being not far from Hessle Road.
The stadium has also been used for
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
with
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
using the ground at times for their home matches.
In 1970,
British League Division Two
The British League Division Two was created in 1968 and was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom until the restructuring of British speedway in 1995. It was renamed the New National League in 1975 and the National League betwee ...
speedway returned to Hull for the first time since 1949 and proved to be exceedingly popular with large crowds cheering on the
Hull Vikings
The Hull Vikings were a speedway team from Hull, England, who operated primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park from 1971 to 2005.
History
The team originated as the Hull Angels and were based at Hedon Stadium in Hedon on the ...
each Wednesday. Hull had the dubious distinction of being the last league speedway team ever to appear at the famous
West Ham Stadium
West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, in East London (it was in the County Borough of West Ham, in the county of Essex, at the time of the stadium's construction). The stadium was built in 1928 on Pri ...
, on 23 May 1972, when they beat the closing Hammers 40–38. Subsequent years saw their promotion to the first division and the inclusion of
world champions Barry Briggs
Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider.
Career
He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedw ...
,
Ivan Mauger
Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...
and
Egon Müller
Egon Müller (born 26 November 1948 in Kiel, Germany) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider and was winner of the Speedway World Championship in 1983, winning the title in his homeland with a maximum score of 15 points.
Career
Mo ...
to ride for the team. Promotional changes, falling crowds and financial problems eventually saw the Vikings demise until their resurrection some years later at Hull's other rugby league and speedway stadium,
Craven Park.
The Boulevard was also the host of the annual
Yorkshire Television Trophy meeting during the 1970s, and early 1980s. With the British leagues home to not only the best British riders such as
1976 World Champion Peter Collins,
1980 World Champion Michael Lee,
Dave Jessup
David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953 in Ipswich, England) is a former speedway rider who finished runner-up the Speedway World Championship in 1980 to fellow countryman Michael Lee.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Spe ...
and
Malcolm Simmons
Malcolm Simmons (20 March 1946 – 25 May 2014) was a British speedway rider.
Career
Simmons was born in Tonbridge, Kent. After starting in second-half races at New Cross, he made his Provincial League debut at Hackney Hawks in 1963 aged seven ...
, but also to many top class riders from around the world including World Champions Briggs, Mauger, Müller,
Ole Olsen and
Bruce Penhall
Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathen ...
, plus
Billy Sanders
William Robert Sanders (9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985Oakes, P (1982). ''Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook''. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ) was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and w ...
,
Dennis Sigalos
Arthur Dennis Sigalos (born August 16, 1959) is an American former professional speedway rider.
Career
Born in Garden Grove, California, Sigalos was a rising star in speedway racing during the late 1970s. Sigalos served notice that he was a c ...
,
Shawn and
Kelly Moran, and
Phil Crump
Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Spee ...
(the inaugural Yorkshire TV Trophy winner in 1974), the meetings often attracted fields which were as good in quality as many World Finals.
The long speedway track surrounded the rugby league field without intersecting it at the corners. This saw the Boulevard have fast, almost 100 metre long straights and tight bends. The run off the corners onto the straights was narrow due to the fence not following the curve of the track but being straight from back in the turns.
The ground consisted of three stands, the most popular being the Threepenny stand, where the majority of singing and chanting occurred. It was given its name when the stadium opened as it was 3
old pence
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound or of one shilling. Its symbol was ''d'', from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same m ...
for entry. In July 1985, Hull's threepenny stand closed for safety reasons. A plaque was unveiled on the 'new' threepenny stand some years ago by STAND and Hull FC.
Greyhound racing
1927–1934
The stadium first hosted greyhound racing in 1927 when the Associated Greyhound Racecourses Ltd promoted a meeting on 2 July. The track was soon to be one of three greyhound stadiums operating in Hull after two more followed suit, within one year
Craven Park stadium had opened and in 1934 the Craven Street track opened but the latter was short lived.
The football team moved out after finding a new home at Boothferry Park in August 1947 and the greyhound racing soon followed after coming to an end on 11 December 1948. Despite the Boulevard being considerably bigger than Craven Park the difference in popularity and tote turnover was significant.
In 1947 the
tote turnover of Craven Park was £578,628 compared to the Boulevard's £23,263.
2003–2009
![Greyhound track at the The Boulevard c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Greyhound_track_at_the_The_Boulevard_c.2003.png)
In 2003 Hull F.C. found a new ground at the KC Stadium joining up with the football team and putting the stadium under imminent threat of closure. Luckily the greyhound operation had just finished at the
New Craven Park and transferred to the Boulevard saving the stadium from closure.
The track was constructed with a circumference of 387 metres and distances of 270, 460, 655 and 845 metres. Racing started in December 2003 with Friday and Saturday night racing under the supervision of Racing Manager, David Gray.
After the council refused to extend the greyhound racing lease the stadium remained unused until 25 October 2007 when it reopened again for the first time in 28 months. Racing changed to Thursday and Saturday nights and Mick Smith was brought in as Racing Manager.
Track records
Closure and demolition
On 17 June 2009 it was announced that the Boulevard would close to greyhound racing once again after less than 2 years. After going to once a week racing, promoter Dave Marshall pulled the plug on funding for the stadium. On 22 August 2010, BBC Humberside reported that the stadium was in the process of being demolished after a council inspection due to safety concerns.
Rugby League Test Matches
List of rugby league Test and
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
matches played at the Boulevard.
Rugby League Tour Matches
Other than Hull F.C. club games, The Boulevard also saw Hull and the county team
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and a combined Hull F.C. and
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...
XIII play host to international touring teams from
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(sometimes playing as
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
) and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
from 1907 to 2002. New Zealand did play Hull F.C. as part of their
1980 tour of Great Britain and France, though that game was played at
Boothferry Park
Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium.
In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulevard
Defunct rugby league venues in England
Rugby League World Cup stadiums
Defunct football venues in England
Defunct speedway venues in England
Hull F.C.
Hull City A.F.C.
Sports venues in Kingston upon Hull
Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Multi-purpose stadiums in the United Kingdom
Sports venues completed in 1895
Sports venues demolished in 2010
Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom